ASU, Arizona Christian University partnership a boon for biology students
Mark Searle (left), interim Arizona State University provost, meets with Arizona Christian University Provost Paul Kremer at ASU's Tempe campus on July 1. The two schools have announced an academic partnership allowing students to complete their first two years at the Christian school and then transfer seamlessly to ASU's specialized biology programs.
Photo by: Charlie Leight/ASU News
Arizona State University and Arizona Christian University (ACU) have announced a new partnership to expand ACU’s academic offerings by allowing students to take courses at the private, accredited Christian university, then transfer and apply into ASU’s biology program.
Under the new partnership, ACU students will take their first two years of classes at ACU, earning an associate’s degree at the Phoenix campus and completing lower-level general-studies requirements for ASU.
Students can then either stay at ACU to finish their bachelor’s degree in biology or transfer to ASU if they desire coursework in more specialized areas of biology such as forensics, ecology, genetics or environmental science.
The students will seamlessly transfer to ASU and be recognized as third-year students, without the loss of time or credit. The transfer requirement aligns with the requirements for the ASU School of Life Sciences biology degree.
The new partnership reflects both ASU’s commitment to expanding opportunities for students to participate in interdisciplinary scholarship and research, and ACU’s commitment to offering a Christian education to more students while encouraging them to pursue their academic options.
Mark Searle, interim provost at ASU, believes the program creates another opportunity for Arizona students to succeed.
“Together, ACU and ASU can ensure that students have a pathway laid out that enables their success towards personal, educational and career goals,” Searle said.
Paul Kremer, provost at ACU, is enthusiastic about the new partnership and what it offers for students.
“Our faculty and staff have worked hard on this new expansion of ACU’s biology program,” he said. “Students who want a private Christ-centered education can still have this experience while also having the option to pursue a specialized concentration in biology.”
The program is open to all ACU students and will start enrolling students in the fall of 2015. ACU students interested in the program should contact an ACU admissions counselor to discuss enrolling.